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The state government has sought the support of corporate houses for introduction of low cost regional flights proposed by Air Odisha Aviation Pvt Ltd.
The private airline proposes to use small aircrafts (with capacity to carry nine passengers and two pilots) to connect different industrial hubs within the state. The company plans to introduce the flights from the first week of November on experimental basis.
To make this operation viable, the state government has urged the corporates with offices and plants in these towns to use the services of the airliner. "The proposed introduction of flight will not sustain without support from corporate houses and general public using the same," joint secretary, general administration department, wrote to the corporates.
The corporates include Mahanadi Coal filed Ltd, Rourkela Steel Pxlant, Bhushan Power and Steel, Hindalco, Odisha Power Generation Corporation, Jindal Steel and Power, Nalco, National Institute of Technology (Rourkela), Vedanta Aluminium, Odisha Cement Limited, Adani Mining Private Ltd, IndBarath etc.
"In view of this, you are requested to utilise the services of Air Odisha flights by your officers as per requirement so that the aviation sector can grow which will increase the economical or industrial development of the state," the GA dept official wrote in the letter.
The company aims to start flights between state capital Bhubaneswar and steel city Rourkela with stoppages at Sambalpur/Jharsuguda. Similar services between Bhubaneswar to Jeypore via Gopalpur are also planned.
The fleet of Air Odisha includes Beechcraft B200, BeechcraftC90, Piper Seneca, Pilatus PC12 and Cessna 172 (as stated in the company's website). Industry sources said, realising the growing importance of the state in steel and power sectors, the private flight operators are making a bee line to bag the uncaptured market share in chartered flying services. Last year, another private charter airlines Air Udaan Private Limited (AUPL) had launched its operations in the state. For the short commuters, AUPL had introduced flights from Bhubaneswar via mining belt of Keonjhar-Rourkela-Jamshedpur to Kolkata and vice versa.
